Tag: making maple syrup

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How to Tap Maple Trees

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Making maple syrup is an age-old activity, the sugarmaking process is not complicated, and you can easily learn everything you need to know in one season. Once you have the tools assembled, it really takes less than 5 minutes to tap a tree. This section will first give you step-by-step tapping instructions and then answer a few common questions people have about sugarmaking. Much more detailed information can be found in our book, Guide to Maple Tapping, which is included in every kit and also available electronically. Additionally, our video and article library includes how-to videos and instructions on selecting a tree, drilling the hole, and using each of our systems. Please check back often as we’re updating all of these resources with new material.

Step One: Identify and Mark Your Trees

Hard maples, also called sugar maple, black maple, or rock maple, have the highest sugar content and produce the best tasting syrup. You can also tap the red or silver maple but the sugar content is lower so you’ll have lower syrup yields and longer boil times. Folks also tap the box elder tree and the finished product has a heavy, sorghum-like flavor.  

The best time to identify a maple tree is in the summer or fall when it is in full leaf. Maple trees all have the same characteristics with slight and subtle variations between each subspecies of tree. Consult an illustrated tree reference guide for more details. Common but distinctive features of maple trees include:

  • Helicopter seeds (technically called samaras) with two v-shaped wings that flutter down and away from the tree. Hard maples drop seeds in the late summer or early fall and soft maples drop seeds in spring and early summer.
  • Separately lobed leaves – typically five lobes prominent valley between each lobe. Hard maples typically have a “U” shaped valley and soft maples have a more “V” shaped valley.
  • Hard maples have darker green leaves with smoother points and the most vivid orange, red, and yellow fall colors. Soft maples have a lighter yellow-green color, much pointier leaves, a white or silver underside, and mostly yellow fall colors.
  • Hard maples have light to dark gray bark with narrow, deep furrows while soft maples have a more layered, flaky bark.
  • Hard maples are most prevalent in southern Canada, the Upper Midwest, the Northeastern states, and down the eastern seaboard of the United States. Sugar maples can be grown outside these areas but require climates with a freeze/thaw cycle to produce tasty sap.

Once you’ve identified the tree, choose a tree at least 12” in diameter with a full canopy of strong healthy branches. Tie weather-resistant marking tape around your tree so you can easily find it in the spring.

Step Two: When to Tap

The tapping season varies from region to region but generally starts in early March and lasts until mid-April. When the sap starts and stops running depends greatly on day and nighttime temperature fluctuations. Watch the weather forecast – sap starts flowing when the temperatures are below freezing at night but climb to the 40°F and above range during the day. If this freeze/thaw pattern is predicted, get out and tap your trees! Don’t be tempted to do it early, though, as this could cause the sap to freeze in your spiles which could damage your equipment and the tree. Remove your taps when you have enough sap or when the tree buds out as that can lead to an off or “buddy” flavor in the finished syrup.

Step Three: Drilling the Taphole

No matter what system you choose, the drilling procedure is the same. The only variation is the size of drill bit needed – most of our kits use a 5/16” spile so that is the size drill bit you’d need. Select a wood-boring drill bit and mark it with tape or a marker at 1½” from the end. This mark will show you where to stop drilling so you only go into the sapwood. Pick a spot on the tree trunk approximately four-feet off the ground below a large branch or above a large root. If using a bucket or jug that will sit on the ground, be sure your tubing will reach the bucket even after the snow melts underneath it.

Drill at a slightly upwards angle into the tree and do not go deeper than 1 ½”. Shavings that come out of the hole should be creamy or light yellow and sap will most likely start running immediately.

Step Four: Inserting the Spile

Once the hole is drilled, you simply insert the spile, gently tap it in with a hammer until it feels snug, and attach your bucket, jug, or bag to collect sap. This tap will stay in the tree for the entire season.

Step Five: Collecting Sap

Each day, you will come back to the woods to collect your sap. Sap left sitting in buckets can grow bacteria – this is not harmful as the sap will be boiled but the bacteria will eat away at your sugars which will affect the syrup’s taste. If you can’t boil your sap every day, it can be chilled for a few days until you’ve collected enough to cook. Normally, a single taphole produces between one quart to one gallon of sap per flow-period (which can last a few hours or more than a day.) Please refer to the section “How to Make Maple Syrup” for more information on filtering and boiling down your sap.

Step 6: End of Season Chores

Once you’ve collected enough sap or the trees bud out, simply pry the spiles from the tree with a small claw hammer. The taphole will heal over the summer and the same tree can be tapped year-to-year, although you cannot reuse the same taphole. Thoroughly rinse all of your equipment – do not use detergents – let air dry and store away for next season.

A Few Common Questions

Do I need special tools for tapping?

Yes: you will need spiles or taps, something to collect your sap in, and a method of attaching it to the spile. Two of the kits we have available are all-in-one systems where the spile, hook, and bag or bucket all fit together right on the tree. We also sell a tubing kit which comes with the taps inserted into the lengths of tubing which you then can direct into a bucket or use as droplines connected to a common line that leads into a bucket. 

You will also need to take a few extra tools with you to the sugarbush – most of which you probably already own. A few necessities include: a drill with a wood-boring drill bit (5/16” or 7/16” depending on the spile you’re using); a marker; a small hammer; and a few five-gallon, food-grade buckets to transfer your collected sap. Depending on which type of kit you buy, you might also need jugs or buckets for collecting at each tree. Our deluxe kits include many of these extra tools.

What’s the difference between a 7/16” and a 5/16” spile?

Previous generations of sugarmakers used a 7/16” spile but research in the last decade has shown that a 5/16” spile (sometimes called the “health spile” or “tree saver spile”) causes less damage to the tree, allows for faster taphole healing, and does not reduce the sap yield when used with gravity systems such as tubing or buckets. Whenever possible, Maple Tapper uses the 5/16” spile in our kits.

How much sap or syrup will I get from each taphole?

The amount of sap each taphole yields varies greatly depending on the tree, the time of year, environmental conditions such as the weather and soil conditions, and even at what point you are in the tapping season. In a normal season, a single taphole produces approximately 10- to 12-gallons of sap. Your finished yield of syrup will depend on the sugar content of your sap. Generally, assume a 40-to-1 conversion – so 12 gallons of sap will boil down to 1 quart of syrup. With this ratio in mind, you’d need four tapholes to produce one gallon of syrup for the season. 

What parts of the country produce maple sap?

Because the sap “run” is triggered by the freeze-thaw cycle, maple syrup is only produced in the Upper Midwest, the Northeastern U.S., and Canada.

Does tapping hurt the tree?

If the tree is healthy when tapped and proper tapping procedures are followed, the taphole will start healing within weeks of the spile’s removal. Many maple tree farms have been tapping the same trees for over 100 years. Each taphole, however, must be placed in a different spot on the tree from the previous year. One thing to note: the bottom 4- to 6-foot “tapping zone” will result in trees that are less valuable if cut down for lumber.

What makes sap into syrup?

Sap becomes syrup as the water is removed through evaporation and the sugars become concentrated. The flavor of your finished syrup is created by the caramelization of the sugars during the boiling process – the longer the sap is boiled in the pan, the darker and stronger the flavors become. Flavor can also be affected by the tree’s qualities and genetics; by the time of year and method through which sap is collected; and by the cleanliness of the boiling room and storage containers. Please refer to the section “How to Make Maple Syrup” for more details on the syrup making process.

Do I need special tools for boiling?

You will need an outside method of boiling down your sap. Most people use a shallow evaporator pan over a wood fire for the first stage of boiling and then a stainless steel pot on a propane burner or outside stove for the finishing stage. You will also need a candy-type thermometer with a readable, one-degree scale; food-grade, syrup-specific filters; glass jars with sealable lids; and general kitchen tools such as funnels, towels, and wooden spoons. The boiling process is covered in full detail in our book, Guide to Maple Tapping.

How long does it take to boil down the sap?

The rate at which your water will evaporate depends on numerous factors such as: pan size and construction; type of heat source; and even the temperature of sap being added to the evaporator. If using a shallow, rectangular pan with lots of surface area, it takes between 9 and 18 hours to produce one gallon of syrup. With a deep, circular pan, it can take as little as 28 hours and as long as 56 hours.

Can I use maple syrup instead of sugar in my cooking?

It is a good substitute but will impart a maple flavor to your dish. Generally, one cup of pure maple syrup equals one cup of sugar and can be swapped out in most recipes. For cookies and cakes that also use liquid ingredients, just reduce the liquids by three tablespoons for each cup of maple syrup used.

How should I store my finished syrup?

Properly bottled and sealed pure maple syrup should be stored in a cool, dry, dark place and will keep for up to one year. Maple syrup can also be frozen indefinitely – it will not harden, though, due to the high sugar content. Once opened, syrup should be stored in the refrigerator and used within six months of opening. If you notice any mold or discoloration, discard the contents as it may not be safe to eat. Also, do not store your syrup in plastic containers as the syrup may absorb odd flavors or odors from the plastic.

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When to Tap Maple Trees

The maple sugaring season varies by region but generally starts in late January and can last until mid-April. When the tree sap starts and stops running, though, depends greatly on day and nighttime temperature fluctuations: if temperatures fall below freezing at night but climb to the 40°F+ range during the day, the sap will begin to flow and it’s time to get out there and tap your maple trees! Watch the weather forecast for this upcoming freeze/thaw pattern but don’t tap your trees too early as it can cause the spiles to freeze in the taphole which may damage the tree. Remove your spiles when you have enough sap or when the tree buds out as that can lead to an off or “buddy” flavor in the finished syrup.

If you’re adventurous and trying other tree varieties, their seasons are slightly different from sugar maple.The freeze/thaw cycle does affect how well sap flows but in more temperate regions such as the Western United States, trees can be tapped all winter as long as they’re dormant. In all cases, sap will not produce good-tasting syrup if the tree is in bud or growing leaves. Here’s a quick rundown of the most popular non-maple trees that folks tap for syrup:

Birch: The sap run usually begins later in the year in late March or early April, often at the end of the maple sugaring season. Daytime temperatures need to get into high 40°s and low 50°s with cold nights to get the sap flowing. Because of this late-season harvest and warmer weather, the sap spoils more quickly if left sitting all day in the buckets so birch sugarmakers often must collect sap twice per day. The season, too, is shorter and typically lasts for only two to three weeks.

Black Walnut or Butternut: As with sugar maple,the sap flow depends on the same freeze/thaw cycle and the season begins at the same time. The length of the season, though, is sometimes a bit longer as these trees are often the last to bud out. You will notice that the color of the sap will darken over the season and the darker it gets, the more robust the finished syrup will taste.

Sycamore: The tapping season and sugarmaking process are identical to maple trees and the sap-to-syrup ratio is similar. The flavor, though, is not the greatest and many considered this a “syrup of last resort” due to its almost-scorched taste. It can, though, be blended with other saps and will add a bit of butterscotch flavor when mixed with maple or other syrups.

Now that you know when to tap, click here to learn more about how to tap, look here for how to make it into maple syrup. Of course, all this info (and more!) is in our book included with every kit!

Don’t forget, during the tapping season we put out a weekly newsletter with lots of great info. Sign up here if you’d like to get the Tapping Times and you’ll also get a FREE Quick Guide to Maple Tapping ebook.

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How to Make Infused Maple Syrup

half empty jar of maple syrup with spoon leaning on the side. Wooden label hangs around the neck of the jar by rope and says Maple Syrup. Headline reads: How to make infused maple syrup
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How to Make Infused Maple Syrup

While we all love the taste of pure maple syrup, it’s also fun to play around with blends and change it up a little bit. Infusions are so hot right now, we thought we’d try it with our syrup. We hit up our friends on maple tapping blogs and social media channels and this is the method most seemed to agree on. Definitely try this in small batches until you’re sure you like it. And don’t choose infusion ingredients that could spoil while in the syrup (i.e. fresh fruit or things that might break down and be difficult to strain out).
A few fun ideas: vanilla beans, coffee beans, or cinnamon sticks (lightly scrape or crush them to release flavor); whole nutmeg, star anise, peppercorns, or cloves; even dried chili or chipotle peppers. We recommend putting your ingredients in a tea infuser or wrap in cheesecloth to make it easier to remove them.

Instructions

  • Make syrup as usual, getting it to 219°F and filtering as you always do, and reserve the amount you intend to infuse.
  • Into this set aside jar, add your extras. Let steep for about one hour – taste at the half-hour mark for flavor intensity.
  • Remove the ingredients, reheat syrup to at least 180°F, filter if desired to remove sugar sand, and seal as usual.
  • For a fun presentation, drop a vanilla bean (or cinnamon stick) in the jar before sealing.
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Maple Syrup Grades and What They Mean

Since sugar shacks opened, pure maple syrup was graded by color and sugar content and each region kind of did its own thing. Yes, it was always sweet and delicious but the consistency across the country (or internationally) was just not there. So in 2014, the International Maple Syrup Institute proposed a change to the grading system which has been adopted both by the USDA and the CFIA (the Canadian equivalent).

Syrup is still graded in four categories but now by color. This handy chart from the Wisconsin Maple Syrup Producer’s Association compares the old grades to the new ones. So if you’re looking for what used to be called Grade B, you’d choose Grade A: Dark. The darker the syrup, the more concentrated the sugar and the more robust the flavor.

How to Cook with Each Grade

Because the darker the color, the more intense the flavor, choose the syrup that best matches what you’re cooking:

Grade A: Golden Color. Has a light, delicate flavor perfect for replacing refined white sugar but also delicious on oatmeal or yogurt.

Grade A: Amber Color. A bit more hardy flavored and probably the most commonly used, this is your gold standard and perfect on its own over waffles, mixed into marinades, or used as a delicious cocktail base.

Grade A: Dark Color. Not for the faint of heart, this is the syrup for more adventurous chefs. A little bit goes a long ways but perfect for thick spicy sauces (such as BBQ); baked beans, or marinades. Also the choice for Paleo dieters.

Grade A: Very Dark Color. The strongest tasting of all, this grade was formerly reserved for commercial use only.

So what makes syrup a certain grade? Many factors affect the color, taste, and even smell of pure maple syrup. Everything from the soil around the tree to the weather at time of tapping to the time of year adds to creating syrup’s unique appearance and taste. In the beginning weeks of the season, the color and the flavor are lighter and as the season warms, the maple syrup turns darker and the flavor becomes more robust. Grade only matters if you’re selling syrup so check with your local Extension Office for more information on accepted grading techniques.

Want to try your hand at making maple syrup? Start here with our Beginner’s Tapping Kit.

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Has Your Maple Sap Stopped Running?

A few years ago many areas of the United States saw a very early sap run so some folks started collecting sap in mid-January, At first they had a good run but eventually saw decreased output and some tapholes dried up completely.

It was unusual and so many sugarmakers we’re asking us, we went to the experts at our favorite extension services. Many thanks to University of Vermont, Ohio State University, University of Minnesota, and Cornell University for patiently answering our questions and offering some helpful suggestions. Here’s what they think happened and what you can do to keep on tapping after your lines seem to clog up.

For starters, this all assumes the tree has not budded out – if that’s the case, the season is done because the syrup will taste bad.

Two reasons for an early shutdown of your taps:

No. 1: Your area has stayed above freezing for too long. Without the freeze/thaw cycle, the sap flow stops or is greatly decreased. Freezing is required to produce the negative stem pressure needed to draw more ground moisture into the stem and crown of the tree. If below freezing nights and above freezing days return to your sugarbush, the sap may resume its flow so leave your spiles in and see what happens.

Author’s Note: My own experience bears this out. During that 2017 season in Minnesota we tapped on 2/18 when the 10-day forecast looked sappy. Right away, we had a good sap run but by 2/20 the temperatures were staying in the high 50s and even into the 60s. That’s right, Minnesota in February! I left the spiles in but we had no sap during these warm days. Then more normal weather moved in and about a day afterwards, sap started flowing again. It wasn’t back to the previous amount but it was steady.

No. 2: Your area got really warm (in the 60s or higher) and the sap hole is probably plugged (some call it “dried up” which is not technically accurate). When the temperature is this warm, bacteria grows and thrives in a sugary substance like sap. It will travel into your spile (especially if you’re using a bucket for tapping) get into the tree and plug the xylem vessels. (Imagine large straws extending up and down the tree – this is what you tap into to extract the sap). Don’t worry, this is the natural mechanism through which trees heal themselves. Great for the tree but not so good for the sugarmaker. Once this happens, that taphole is done.

Redrilling it or reaming it out would only further damage the tree so that is not recommended and it would not remove the “plug” that’s above and below the taphole. If you suspect this is the case, leave your spiles in until another freeze/thaw cycle and see if the sap will run. If not, remove them and hope for better weather next season.

One Extension Office pointed out that having snow pack around your tree will help keep the temperature down a bit which will inhibit bacteria growth. They also mentioned that using a closed tapping system such as taps and tubes, shop here gives bacteria less opportunity to enter the system.

Tapping More Holes?

So, if you’ve determined your taphole is a goner, can you drill another hole? This is a maybe and it depends on how many tapholes you already have in that tree (see the chart below) and if you can find a new spot at least 6” away from the existing tapholes. If you can meet the necessary criteria, you can try drilling another taphole but make sure the weather forecast is favorable.

Taps per Diameter Guide
12”- 18” diameter = 1 tap
18” – 32” diameter = up to 3 taps
32” or more diameter = up to 6 taps

One interesting suggestion I heard was to tap your trees in sequence to account for weird weather patterns. For instance, if you normally tap 20 trees, tap ten during the first warm spell and tap the remainder during the normal tapping season in March (depending, of course, on the temperature forecast and before the tree has bloomed). This does add more work to the cooking but we have seen that it’s possible to freeze sap without much loss.

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Can You Freeze Maple Sap?

Frozen sap running into maple bucket
Frozen sap out of maple spile into bucket

Have you been wondering if it would be faster to freeze the water in your sap instead of boiling it down? We’ve all found our sap buckets with chunks of ice after a really cold night and we know that ice is mostly water, so why not just toss it out and save time evaporating it during boiling? Early sugarmakers did just that mostly because they didn’t have access to heavy-duty tools that would stand up to high heat. Large modern day sugarmakers are using freeze concentration in their operations to save time. If you’d like to try it out this season, this article will highlight the hows and whys of freezing sap and we’ll begin with this author’s unscientific freeze experiment.

 Because necessity is the mother of invention . . .

I tried my very own freeze experiment in 2015 mostly because it was an abysmal sap year and I wanted to boil all my sap at once at the end of the season. I only gathered about 20 gallons of sap in 2015 so as I collected it, I filtered it, and froze it in five-gallon-buckets. It was cold enough outside that we just put the buckets in the shade and banked them with snow. Sure enough a big block of ice formed in each bucket. When I was ready to cook, I let the buckets thaw a bit and poured the liquid into my pot. As you can see from these pictures this left a lot of ice in the bucket. I boiled my syrup as usual and ended up with the standard yield of about 40-to-1.

pink bucket with frozen chunk of water and maple sap

But while I was boiling my first batch of sap, those big chunks of ice melted. I just couldn’t help myself so I boiled these former ice chunks down and do you know what? I ended up with more syrup but it was probably closer to a 50-to-1 yield. So in my unscientific judgment, freezing did work somewhat to concentrate the sap but if I would have thrown out that ice, I would have lost about a half-quart of syrup!

Now I’m not saying it doesn’t have merit and if you can freeze your sap outside, you would use zero energy for at least part of your concentrating steps. One way to try this would be to use a multi-stage freeze/thaw method where you let the ice chunks melt, then pour off the liquid to boil, and then start the freeze/thaw/cook method over again.

One thing everyone agrees on, though, is you still must boil your sap to achieve the caramelized color and flavor we all love. Besides it has to be heated up for bottling anyway and there’s no way around that!

A more proven freeze method.

  Beyond this backyard trial and error, the professionals have been working out a way to freeze the water in sap as it flows through the lines into the sugar shack. The upfront cost and set up of these systems is not really feasible for the hobbyist but it’s interesting to take a look at the method. Typically at the end of the mainline but before the storage tank, the sap is run through a refrigerated pipe. The water freezes, concentrating the sap which continues to flow through into the storage tank for boiling. The ice is melted and drained off.

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When Does Tapping Season End?

There are three simple ways to tell when the oh-so-short maple tapping season is done.

Sign #1: You Have Enough Maple Syrup!

We sincerely hope you reach your personal goal of maple syrup production before the season officially ends. This is usually indicated when your shelves are overflowing with maple syrup and your family is begging you to stop boiling sap and go get some groceries already because they are tired of pancakes!

But we all know you really can never have enough pure maple syrup so most of us rely on the next signs to know when to stop.

Sign #2: Weather Warms Up and Sap Slows Down

The forecast says it all . . . as nighttime temperatures warm up past freezing (and stay there), sap runs to the top branches which causes the tree to bloom or bud out. Also, the warmer the weather, the more energy the tree has to heal the taphole you’ve drilled which cuts off the sap flow from that spile (this is sometimes referred to as “drying out” but it really is just sealed over). Anyway, once you see buds, you’ve moved onto Sign #3.

Sign #3: Buds Open Up

As the warm weather and Spring Fever grips us with dreams of gardening, it also encourages the tree to open up its little buds and start growing leaves. But once those buds open up, the sap takes on an off-flavor and makes for odd-tasting syrup and the sugaring season has come to its end.

When You’re Done: Pulling the Taps

Once you’ve decided to stop collecting sap, gently pry your spiles from the trees. Just leave the taphole as is and it will naturally heal over the summer. Thoroughly rinse your equipment in hot water but do not use dish soap. Some folks use a mild bleach and water solution (especially for tubing) but you must thoroughly rinse all equipment so no traces of bleach remain. After everything is dried, pack it away for next year.

If you’re really adventurous, you can find a way to extend your season by tapping other varieties of trees such as birch or black walnut. Their seasons last a bit longer than sugar maples, read more on our blog here . . .

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How to Use Droplines

dark blue tubing running from tree to tree in a snowy woods to collect maple sap

After a few seasons of sloshing buckets around the woods, every sugarmaker starts to think about connecting all these lines into one main bucket. Wouldn’t that be a huge timesaver? That’s why tubing systems are becoming the first choice of most expert sugarmakers and this article will give you a mini-guide on using droplines, mainlines, and large storage tanks (also called an Aerial Tubing System). If you’re serious about implementing one of these systems, we highly recommend visiting one of the helpful Extension Service sites listed at the end of this article. These really smart folks have done the research and offer detailed instructions for setting up, maintaining, and getting the most out an aerial tubing system. Don’t forget to check with your local Extension Service, too, or stop by another sugarmaker in your area and ask questions. Most folks love to show off their operation!

Order 50′ and 500′ coils of BPA-free, food-grade tubing here. Easily connects to our regular tubes.

Typical Maple Tapping Dropline System Parts

(You can create a smaller version with three or four trees that would use droplines connected to a larger line that ends at a central bucket.)

Standard spiles (to go in the tree)

Droplines – tubing that connects to the spiles and runs to the lateral lines

Laterals tubing – this part of the system connects multiple trees to the mainline (Penn State recommends no more than 10 trees per lateral). The laterals are stretched from tree to tree to create a tight structure and then connected to each dropline through a special tee connector.

Mainline (often called conduit) – typically larger than the tubing because it will carry sap from multiple trees. Laterals feed sap into the mainline which runs through the sugarbush to the storage tank.

Large storage tank – placed at the end of the mainlines to collect all the sap. Preferably this tank is near your sugar shack where it can be further run into your filtering and cooking areas.

Most Important Rule of Using a Multiple Line System: The overall flow of these systems must be downhill because you are creating a gravity system to pull the sap through long stretches of tubing. If parts of the tubing sag or dip, sap flow will decrease. Sags in the line also can cause bacterial growth if sap is left sitting in the tubing. Many large scale producers also incorporate a vacuum system to keep sap flowing.

After you’ve set up your system, don’t be afraid to tweak it. Maybe a line needs to be shortened a bit or maybe you need to set up a collection bucket midway through your planned route. As with all sugarmaking, trial and error creates the best product!

It’s also important to use food-grade tubing and containers at all points in collection. This ensures the taste and quality of your finished syrup. And, yes, you can freeze maple sap!

Find More Info Here

Penn State Extension Services at: www.extension.psu.edu/natural-resources/forests

University of Vermont at: www.uvm.edu/extension/maple

Cornell University Cooperative Extension at: www.maple.dnr.cornell.edu

University of Minnesota Extension Service at: www.extension.umn.edu

University of Maine at: www.umaine.edu

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How to Calibrate a Syrup Thermometer

thermometer in boiling maple syrup
Thermometer in boiling syrup

Because the syrup-making process relies so heavily on an accurate temperature reading, it’s best to calibrate your thermometer before each day’s boiling session. Readings can be affected by barometric pressure, by altitude, by mishandling of the thermometer (yes, we’ve all dropped ours!), or even if you’re using a brand new thermometer.  

The purpose of calibrating it is to find the temperature at which water begins to boil — normally this is at 212°F for most maple tapping altitudes. (If you live at higher altitudes check online for your normal water boiling temperature.) Once you know your thermometer’s reading, you can then add 7° to determine your syrup’s finish point of 219°F. For instance, if your thermometer shows a temperature of 213°F when water boils, you’ll know it is off by +1°F, so you’ll know to boil the sap to 220°F (as shown on your thermometer). Don’t worry, you’ll figure it out! 

How to calibrate a thermometer:

1. Place your thermometer in a pan of distilled water making sure to have 2-inches of room on all sides and up from the bottom of the pan. Make sure you start with enough water to keep your thermometer’s bulb or reading tip submerged for five minutes even as water evaporates.

2. Heat distilled water to a rolling boil. Leave thermometer in boiling water for five minutes, remove from water, and hold at eye level to read temperature.

3. Take note of temperature in relation to baseline: If it is +/- 212°F, add or subtract this range to your finish boil target temperature as described above.

If you get wildly different readings each time you calibrate your thermometer, you can safely assume this thermometer is no longer reliable you should buy a new one.

Our Ultimate Tapping Kit (order here) includes a thermometer like the one shown here — you can also use a digital one or a standard glass thermometer. Just make sure it has marking or readings to one-degrees.

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How to Filter Sap

Sediment (sugar sand or niter) in maple syrup.

If you’ve ever seen sediment, cloudiness, or even chunks of sugar in your pure maple syrup, you know what sugar sand (aka niter) is! This is a perfectly edible (and natural) component of syrup but it can easily be removed with filtering. Most sugarmakers filter sap and syrup three times and this article and video describes that quick and easy process. Be sure to use professional filters designed for syrup making (not coffee filters, cheesecloth, or dish towels).

Filters are inexpensive and reusable so it’s a one-time purchase as you get started. We use one-quart filters which are a more manageable size for the home sugarmaker. They fit perfectly into a standard sieve stand and have small slits in each side so you can thread a dowel through and easily balance on the sieve stand so you have both hands free for pouring hot syrup. 

Filters are included with many of our kits but you can also buy them separately here.

Note: If you’re making black walnut syrup, don’t use the Orlon or a similarly thick filter. Walnut sap contains more pectin than maple sap so it’s too thick to run through this type of filter. Try cheesecloth or a thin strip of clean muslin.

This short video shows the entire process: 

Filter #1: This step is done each day as you collect sap to remove debris that may have fallen into your sap bucket (one more reason to use a closed lid system!). Suspend the thinner prefilter over a clean bucket and slowly pour the sap through to seine out debris. When done, rinse this filter with plain hot water, air dry, and save for later. Refrigerate or freeze the sap until ready to boil.

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Filter #2: This step occurs midway in the boiling process as sap reaches a temperature in the 215°F range. At this point, concentrated sap is moved from the larger pan or evaporator and poured through a thin prefilter into the finishing pot. This removes the majority of sugar sand which can make syrup cloudy.

Filter #3: The third and final filter is done after the sap has reached its finished temperature and is poured into bottles. For this filtering, put the thinner prefilter inside the thicker Orlon filter.  Slowly pour the finished sap through these filters and into clean, hot bottles or jars. Syrup is now done!

Cleaning Filters. As mentioned earlier, these filters are reusable and should last for years if cared for properly. Never wash with detergent or dish soap as this can affect the flavor of finished syrup. After use, simply rinse well in hot water and hang to dry. Do not wring or twist the filters as this can tear them or alter their shape.

 If you’d like to learn more about entire boiling process, click over to this helpful article, “How to Make Maple Syrup.”